History

Astrus Hotel (former Central Tourist House Hotel) is located in the Troparevo district which is considered to be one of the most ecologically safe and green Moscow districts. Geographical name “Troparevo” comes from the name of a large village situated in the Moscow area which has become a part of the city of Moscow in 1960. The planning and construction project of Troparevo was being developed in two stages: until the mid-1960s – by architects B.R. Rubanenko, L.K. Dyubek and others, after the mid-60s – by architects E.N. Stamo, A.B. Samsonov and others. In the late 1960s – early 1970s an experimental residential area was created here during construction of which assembling methods for different types of buildings on the basis of the Unified Catalogue of Construction Components were being worked out. 35-storey hotel Astrus (former Central Tourist House Hotel) has become one of such buildings built under the project of architect V. Kuzmin in 1980 in the highest point of Leninsky avenue. In the same place, there is a stripe between Vernadskogo and Leninsky avenues divided by 26 Bakinskikh Komissarov Street into two uneven parts.

Astrus Hotel was built under the order of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and the Central Council on Tourism and Excursions and was intended to provide accommodation to foreign tourists who arrived in Moscow under assignments of foreign trade unions and serve official events and delegations.

In 1980, during the Moscow Olympic Games for the first time foreign tourists who arrived to watch the Olympic Games and also some of the journalists covering the Games stayed in the Central Tourist House located just in 10-minute drive from the Olympic village.

In 1985, the Hotel welcomed delegates of the XII World Festival of Youth and Students and in 1986 – members of the World Council of Churches. In 1990s, when cooperation of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions with their foreign associates ended and interest of foreign tourists to Russia faded, the Central Tourist House went through some hard times in its history. However, the end of the trade union era has become the beginning of the era of independence.

In the Central Tourist House the first Moscow restaurant of Eastern cuisine “1001 nights” was opened, offices of diverse companies appeared, re-profiling of rooms began. The Hotel was thus reoriented from servicing foreign tourists to servicing new customers – Russian and foreign businessmen.